The Eu

Cultural Differences : Individualism and Collectivism

The many cultures of the world differ in a great variety of ways. One of the most 
interesting ways in which cultures vary is in the extent to which they are "individualistic" 
or "collectivistic." An individualist society and a collectivist society are different in many 
ways. 
In an individualistic culture, each person tends to think of himself or herself in terms of 
his or her own characteristics and preferences-the things that make the person unique or 
different from others. In a collectivistic culture, each person tends to think of himself or 
herself in terms of his or her social relationships and roles-the things that make the 
person a part of a larger group, such as an extended family or an ethnic group. 
Another difference between individualist and collectivist cultures involves the tendency 
to help others. In an individualist society, people feel some obligation to help persons 
who share some group identity-such as their distant relatives, or persons from the same 
town-but this obligation is not nearly as strong as in collectivist cultures. On the other 
hand, people in collectivist cultures tend to feel very little inclination to help other people 
who do not belong to their groups, whereas people in individualist cultures are more 
often willing to help others even if they do not belong to the same group. 
Another difference between individualist and collectivist cultures involves the 
relationship between people and the groups to which they belong. In an individualist 
culture, people usually join or leave groups when it is in their personal interest to do so. 
In a collectivist culture, people usually stay with one group for a long time. For example, 
people in individualist societies are more willing to quit their job, and take a new job at 
another company. People in collectivist societies usually prefer to stay with one company 
throughout their career. Similarly, people in individualist countries usually get married 
for reasons of personal choice, and are more likely to get divorced. However, people in 
collectivist societies usually get married according to the wishes of their relatives, and 
are less likely to get divorced. 
Western countries, such as those of western Europe and North America, are usually 
considered to be very individualist. However, not all individualist countries are similar in 
every way. For example, the individualism of the United States is viewed as more 
"competitive" than that of socialist countries, such as Sweden. In contrast to Western 
countries, the countries of most parts of Asia and Africa are usually considered to be 
very collectivist. Collectivist countries also differ from each other in many ways. 
The idea of individualism versus collectivism is an interesting way to understand some 
of the differences between cultures. By learning about ideas like this, one can better 
appreciate the customs of other peoples.